Stray (Touchstone) by Andrea K. Höst

Author:Andrea K. Höst [Höst, Andrea K.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Andrea K Hösth
Published: 2011-03-20T06:00:00+00:00

MARCH

Sunday, March 2

Aether

'Aether' is an Earth word, I'm sure of it. Or, at least, 'ether' is, and I know that's an anaesthetic, but there's another definition. I've read it in fantasy novels, used for the 'atmosphere' in one of the afterlifes or something. There's a phrase, 'off in the aether' isn't there? Aether is a word on Tare, as well. I found that out...it's four days ago now, I think. The day which was supposed to be Boxes Rotation.

I spent the morning on the roof doing homework and enjoying the sunshine. It was a rare cloudless day, really nice. After lunch I lolled about on my bed, watching news and sampling dramas and trying to read the descriptions of online games I'm considering subscribing to because no-one would treat me as a stray in a game – just a noob. But they all look a bit daunting because it's played inside your head and though they're not 'in-skin', they'll still be vastly more than I'm used to. The things you might do in a 'full' virtual reality are more than I'm willing to take on just yet.

I was labouring through the description of one when an appointment was entered into my calendar, and I had just looked to see that I was supposed to be doing a 'Retrieval' starting five minutes ago when Zan "opened a channel" to me, which is Tare-speak for calling me, except that when someone opens a channel you don't get any choice about answering your equivalent of a phone – their voice is just abruptly there in your head. Only people with a certain amount of authority can do that, generally for emergencies. This was a big one.

"Cassandra, come as quickly as you can to Green Lock," she said. "Ready for entry into the Ena."

I was glad I wasn't still on the roof. "Something happen?" I asked as I quickly stripped off the clothes I'd been slopping around in.

"The Pillar investigation teams have gone down," Zan said, which was enough to make me run along the corridors, after I'd made a lightning-quick bathroom stop and had my uniform sprayed on. I was too scared to ask what exactly 'gone down' meant, just hoped 'retrieval' meant something more positive than bringing back bodies. First Squad are pretty much making this planet bearable for me, and the idea of anything happening to them made me sick.

I wasn't the last to arrive. Both Twelfth Squad and Tenth Squad were gathering, more than a few of them looking mussed and sleepy since they were on an earlier shift than mine and would have been in bed when the call came. The only person I'd worked with before was Zan, and the implications of that kept my mouth shut altogether as they waited for the last stragglers to arrive. To use two squads who had just come off-shift, and to put me with them when they're not squads I'd tested with, was more than enough to underline how bad it was.

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